Fourth
by TNKjoou
Summary: You had been watching over him a little more than a thousand time, but this was the fourth time the two of you met. And the first time he looked at you.—Elf, Alba. (SPOILERS up to Chapter 3, Episode 37 of the manga.)


I.

This was how it all started.

He was sprawled on the floor of his own little dark space—void of any kinds of stuff. Yawning, he rolled off his stomach.

Elf November was utterly bored.

(Well, when you've lived for two millennia and a few more years, it was definitely not an easy task to look for something new to keep you entertained.)

"…" rolling off for the nth time already, the demon sighed before voicing out the only thing on his mind right now, "This is so boring."

As much as he knew articulating it wouldn't help him in any way, he couldn't help but did so.

No one was there to accompany him at the moment—and he wasn't sleepy enough to take a nap, and if he did take a nap, he was prone to get bored again when he woke up, he was sure of it.

So he crudely got up, and with a heavy sigh—and an even heavier step, went out of his little space to the human world.

"Let's just do the usual, then."

.

This was how it usually went; he went out to find a troubled little human, maybe helped them a little, if he felt like it, and then he would show off his transformation magic to them—just to see how they'd react.

Their response was always the same: they all ran off. Maybe also shouting a '_you monster!_' in an ugly, screechy voice.

Not like they were wrong, actually, though it would've been more accurate if they had said 'demon' instead.

(At some point he mused that if he had a penny for every single time he heard that, he would be filthy loaded by now. Although in retrospect, he doubted some petty money would help him getting out of boredom.)

When they were out of his sight, sometimes he'd jokingly said "I hope we can meet again,"—even though he knew very well that they couldn't hear it, and they certainly didn't want to, anyway.

And then he would just shrug it off, going back to look for something else to entertain him.

.

It was a nice day; the sky was almost cloudless when Elf found _him_.

From those wanted posters that he recently saw almost everywhere, he recognized that this human's name was Alba. Charged for assaulting a little girl, robbing a bank, cooperating with the Demon Lord (Elf snorted at this, like, really?), jail breaking, and now for _murdering_, this boy—who was also one of the Hero candidate—certainly didn't fail to amuse the tanned man just from reading the description in the tattered paper.

When he once saw the monochrome photo attached to the wanted poster, Elf was highly skeptic that _this guy_ could've done it all. Or at least some of it. After all, what if this innocent-looking boy was actually a _lolicon_?

He saw, from afar, that the brunet was running from the city guards _("Stop right there, murderer!"_ they shouted—completely ignoring the fact that the blond man whom he 'murdered' was also scurrying off from being caught by them.) By some odd chance, the two of them managed to outrun their captors.

Elf didn't immediately approach him, of course. He just watched him carefully from the distance, waiting for the blond man who was with his target went off, leaving him alone. When the said man finally did, the demon decided to make his entrance, coming up to him in disguise of the blond just then.

Oh, he was going to have fun, all right.

.

With a _graceful_ sound of thump, both of them were thrown into the jail.

Elf had never been confined in a jail, so he took his time to observe the plain, stone-walled space bemusedly, _so this is what inside a prison look like, it's not so bad._

His companion, however, didn't seem to think so, and ingenuously expressed it with a hard slap to his right side of his face. That caught him off-guard, not because it particularly hurt. Frankly, this kid was _weak_—no, it was more like he did not expect someone would slap him like that.

Alba started crying—all the while ranting about he knew it was a bad idea to rely on a stranger, about how he's so very fed up being in a jail, and so on. Elf would feel bad for him, if it wasn't for how _amusingly_ pitiful he looked already.

So he advised a plan, and with a single swipe, there were _two_ Alba in that room.

The hero's eyes widened—and Elf smirked before he threw the prison keys to him, thinking that it would also happen just like the _usual_, so he started a countdown in his head. _Three, two, one…_

But it never came, and _he_ instead asked about his name, of all things.

_("Elf November," the demon managed to state it without missing a beat. "…It'd be nice if we could meet again.")_

And when he received a quick whisper of "Thanks," from the little hero, in lieu of the spiteful remarks he had gotten bored of hearing, something seemed to surface in him.

That unknown something made the demon could only watch the brunet's prisoner uniform-clad rear as he hurriedly unlocked their cell before running out, leaving the demon alone in a gray-colored silence.

Right after their short time together, Elf exclaimed to himself,

_This is it._

* * *

II.

From that day onward, Elf had spent his waking moments observing this one fellow that managed to pique his interest. Well, to call this as interest was probably an understatement, but he couldn't be bothered to look up for a name for this thing he was feeling after their encounter.

Monitoring every little thing that Alba was doing from the magic screen in his little dark space, Elf also got to know those people—and beings from the demon world—that were close to him. Somehow, he wasn't surprised when he recognized that the young hero was friends with the little Demon Lord.

What he didn't expect, however, that he was an acquaintance to the Legendary Hero—what's his name, again…oh, right, Creasion.

Elf had seen it all; how the little hero regrouped with his friends, how Dezember had practically sliced him in half (he was surprised when he found himself considering that he was going to do the same to the shadow demon after), how the great Creasion sacrificed his freedom to save _him_. He knew about it all.

Of course, he also knew how Alba went on a journey—together with the Demon Lord—to look for his former soldier. With neither any trace nor clue to his whereabouts, it was somehow amazing that the hero—now the rumored 'Red Fox'—had never once uttered a word of giving up.

He understood, and maybe that was why he unconsciously started comparing himself, and Creasion.

He had lived longer than him, in the same solitary as him—maybe even more—but why, just _why_ did he feel more sympathy to the Legendary Hero than him?

Elf snapped back when he realized what was he thinking about, and was it annoyance that he felt?

.

He went out of his way to meet the Red Fox once, when the brunet was just casually sitting by the river in a forest, absentmindedly letting his slightly bruised legs felt the clear water. The pink-haired Demon Lord was not with him; probably taking a nap somewhere not far from where he was.

Elf November hadn't bothered to hide his presence, and that was probably why Alba noticed him first, 'who's there', he said warily. At that, the demon simply walked out from behind one of the trees, and the moment he did, he could saw that the hero's tensed shoulder fell down in a relaxed manner. The raven-haired man felt his stomach churned; but kept his grin.

"Oh, it's just you… Uh, wait, I remember you-" the hero turned from the river to face him, seemingly trying to remember his name, "Ah! You're that annoying Kansai guy! Elf November!"

A chuckle went past his lips; somehow pleased that Alba remembered his name— "Yep, that's me, alright!" he proudly crossed his arms, "But c'mon, was I really that annoying? I did help you jail breakin' once, right?"

The brunet looked less that happy, but he only sighed, "Can't deny that…"

Taking off his torn, black shoes, Elf sat down beside Alba before he set his feet onto the shallow river, just like what the hero did before.

"So, what are you doing here?" Alba started, not before he went back to his former position, "You live around here, or…"

"Well, you could say that," he replied, flicking his feet back and forth, making the water crippled under the motion, "how're you doin' yourself, Alba-san?"

They talked about various things_—'Oh, look, a fish, aren't you gonna catch it?' Elf pointed not far across where they were sitting, 'No, I think we can get to the town before it's dark, I still don't know how to properly dissect a fish, anyway.' Alba replied._ From there, their topic expanded from their favorite dish, what they can cook, and what the hero usually ate if he had to stay the night in the forest.

(It wasn't that Elf didn't know most of it already, but he figured he would ask just for the heck of it. He liked hearing his voice directly—more so than the one he usually heard from the magical screen, but of course Alba didn't need to know about this.)

As they kept on chatting, Elf observed the other boy closely—he noticed that Alba had significantly grown over the course of a few months, maybe even taller than him now?

Elf also noticed the increasing wounds he had all over his body, and then the slightly loose bandage on his left arm—"Oh, this? Ruki-chan isn't very good at patching up, but she _did_ do it better than I can," he stated with a quiet laughter, stroking the bandaged arm.

"Huh," the demon huffed, faking an interest at his words, before starting up a different subject to talk about.

.

"Whoa, look at the time," Alba got up when he noticed the sky had turned to a pale orange, "Ruki-chan's probably up by now, so…how about you, Elf?"

Elf didn't immediately stand up, and instead just stretched his arms out, "I think I'm gonna stay here a lil' bit longer."

"I see," the Hero replied, dusting off some dirt from his pants before he gave a small wave at Elf. "Well then, guess I'll see you around. Don't stay here too long, see you!"

Being only capable of waving back and saw his back—again—Elf was somehow surprised that their whole time chit-chatting like that, Alba didn't even mention about what was he journeying for. Not like he himself was eager to hear about it, either.

And yet, even though their eyes met every now and then, Elf had a feeling that his whole existence didn't exist in the hero's line of view, at all.

.

.

.

"Hey, Alba-san."

The tanned man, not breaking his gaze from the hero on the magic-powered screen in the dark space, let out a small chuckle before he continued;

"If you wished for it, I could be just about anyone you want me to be, you know?"

With a single flick of his calloused fingers, another screen popped out on the right side of the one that displayed the red fox. It showed what looked like a fairly normal house, with wooden furniture here and there; and finally, a figure who sat on a chair—looking out of the window as if she was expecting for someone to come.

"For example, maybe, I could be someone who can cheer you up whenever you're down—like your mother,"

Another flick, and yet another one appeared on the left of the first screen. This one showed a room identical to Alba's, except the lights seemed to have been turned off, and was only brightened by the moonlight. Sleeping soundly on the bed was the owner of a mess of pink hair with tiny, black wings on her head.

"Or someone who can keep you company and help you when the time calls for it—like the little Demon Lord,"

"…or maybe I could be," he trailed off and casting his gaze away from the screen onto the floor, not noticing his own voice becoming lower and lower. "…someone whom you had always wanted to be with. Someone you want to laugh together with the most, someone you've been chasing for, someone…"

_Someone who wasn't me._

"…so, that's why, you don't need anyone else beside me, right?"

Flick, and all of the screens blacked out, except one.

The smile never left his face—though, he noticed his voice had gotten just a little bit shaky, and the blurry image on the screen that he saw after he lifted his head back up confirmed that he, indeed, had started shedding a few beads of tears. Elf didn't even bother to wipe those—who was there to see him doing such _humanely_ act, anyway?

Then again, why did he cry?

And when was the last time he cried, again?

Elf contemplated; he could just fly off to where they were at, and killing all of those precious to him—everyone who were more important to the Hero than himself—was a simple task, honestly. Did he have anything to lose by doing it? But then, he thought, what would the hero himself think?

…since when did he start thinking of what others think of him?

Those questions that didn't seem like they would be answered anytime soon filled his thought, and Elf just stood there, his gaze never left the brunet on the other side of the world.

* * *

III.

They met for the third time in his underground cell that looked almost identical to the prison they were in together before. Of course, the demon noticed that this one was slightly different—a single bed to the right, numerous _ofuda_ plastered to the stone walls, and there was also a wooden desk in the middle of the cell.

Such an unfitting place for a Hero, he thought.

"Oh, it's you, Elf—wait, what are you doing here?!"

"Yahoo, Alba-san~ Just came here to see you." he replied in that ever-so-cheerful tone of his, both hands in pockets of his worn out pants.

Alba—clad in that black and white prisoner outfit of his—made a doubtful look as if saying that he'd never understand the man standing before him, but otherwise just let it slide before he went back to finish his pile of drills.

"There's nothing to see here, though. Do you want to get inside? But I'm not sure that—"

"Nah, I'm fine, don't wanna bother you much, anyway. Or have I done it, after all? Haha!"

Behind the bars, Alba was heaving an exasperated sigh, and yet he didn't make an attempt to shoo his visitor away, and it made Elf let out another laugh, "Oh, you aren't gonna make scram? Alba-san is so kind!"

Without stopping his pencil from writing probable answers at the papers, Alba responded plainly, "Even if I were to, I doubt you'd just go away."

"Can't say you're wrong," Elf sat down at the ground as he smiled, amused at his reaction. He had stopped caring whether it was kindness or indifference, and just took it for what it was. "so, how have you been?"

.

This time, it was Elf who got up to take his leave first—more like because there was no way that Alba could just go off and once again jail-breaking.

Saying his good bye with his usual smile, he turned his back to Alba before heading out of the cave—

"Wait, Elf,"

The imprisoned hero's voice was what hold him back from walking away, and Elf looked back to see his nervous expression. He liked that look—mostly because he had never seen Alba looking like that while talking to him.

"What is it, Alba-san?"

"No, it's just. Uhh…" he held back, looking anywhere but him, as if contemplating whether to say what he was going to say or not, "…be careful on your way out, I don't know why, but I've been having bad feeling since earlier—o-of course I'm not saying anything bad will happen to you, but—I mean-"

His chuckle cut off whatever the hero had more to tell, and Elf simply grinned at him before he responded, "Got it, no need to worry 'bout me, Alba-san. Good luck with those papers!"

With that, Elf disappeared, leaving Alba alone once again.

_Sadly, Alba-san, your hunch was right, maybe, though it wasn't me whom you need to worry._

If only he had paid more attention to Elf, probably he would have noticed the slight metallic smell coming from the stain of the blood from his hands.

"The next time we meet," Elf started to no one in particular—there was nobody to hear him, anyway, "will be the last time we can talk casually like that, I guess."

He ignored the pain he felt in his chest, thinking maybe it would disappear for every heavy step he took.

* * *

The youth who had been bestowed upon the power of Mana-kun, Sol, was struggling against another youth who had taken the title as the new Demon Lord. He was fighting a desperate battle, trying to bring back Lake to his senses as they exchange blows.

They were fighting an equal match; just like another clash that also took place not far from where they were; Dezember and Guilty Justice who sided with him, against the Second Generation Rchimedes. The strongest demon against the former Demon Lord. It was an intense fight

The situation was getting dire when Lym appeared right in the middle of their battle; and of course, _Nidaime_ just had to protect his dearest second daughter from Justice's powerful punch—using his own body as the shield.

Almost too easily, her fist pierced through his chest, and fresh blood of his splattered across the little girl's face.

.

.

IV.

"And that, more or less, is what's happening so far."

Elf stated with a tone without a hint of remorse to his two guests before him—the former Legendary Hero and the Hero himself. The Demon tilted his head in amusement as he watched their face contorted in horror.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Well, now that you know it, don't you think you'd be better off saving them, right now?"

Alba snapped and quickly turned his head to the man beside him. "Ross! This is bad! We have to save them -"

Before he knew it, Ross wasn't there anymore.

"…!? Ross!?"

The brunet panicked, even more so when he noticed that Elf, too, had disappeared all of a sudden.

"If you're looking for him, he's right here, Alba-san."

Without thinking, Alba quickly looked behind for where that voice came from. And there he saw them; both Ross and Elf—only this time he saw that the former soldier had been bounded by some sort of immobilization magic; making him unable to move, only sprawled across the floor with both his hands and knees restricted by what looked like some magical handcuff. He immediately tensed.

At his side, the tanned man had this childlike smile plastered on his face.

"Whoops, can't have you leaving so soon, Alba-san. Let's play a little game instead, shall we?" He lightly kicked Ross on his side, earning a threatening glare and hiss from him. Elf ignored them, only focusing on the alarmed-looking hero in front of him.

Cold sweat adorning his face, Alba opened his mouth to speak, but the demon interrupted him before he could, "You can go ahead and save those dying comrades of yours, I won't stand in your way."

Again, The Hero was about to speak, but he just shut his mouth, as if signaling for the man before him to go on. Elf was somehow pleased at this.

"But here's the catch; the moment you set your foot outside this place…"

Alba clenched his gloved fists—he had a feeling he knew what Elf was going to say next, but he silently prayed to whatever gods out here that his hunch was wrong. Every second now felt like an eternity to him; and Elf knew it.

'_What a pathetic little one,'_ Elf reflected. He would very much like to drag this out a little longer, but he knew it couldn't be. So Elf just huffed before looking back at him, and said,

"…I'll kill Shion-kun."

The moment he finished his statement, both of the Hero's eyes—that never left his sight—suddenly turned deep red in what looked like raw resentment.

Feeling himself shivering slightly under this alien sensation, Elf clutched his green shirt. A part of him felt that he shouldn't be overjoyed that the Hero was immobilized because he was having a hard time choosing between saving his friends—The Second and the kids—and _solely_ this former hero at his feet. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel his smile widened.

_Ah, finally, you finally look at me and only me._

* * *

**A/N:** Writing Elf is surprisingly hard, but then again, this is like the very first fic I've finished. So. Yeah.

I thought I wasn't being clear enough, but welp; the third verse = right after Elf nearly beat Shion to death, but before Alba found him. Was it episode 21? 22? Idk I forgot.

The first and the last are set on episode 18 of the anime and chapter 3 episode 37 (if I remember correctly...) respectively, whilst the second is set on totally random time, but I like to think it was not long after Alba had started his journey to find Ross. Any other canon differences are artistic license.

I dunno why I wrote this, but after reading SQ I had always thought that Elf had no qualms in being killed by Alba. Of course I'm one of those who think SQ =/= web, but. Well.

I'm 2000% sure that there are craploads of grammar error and typo here, so feel free to correct. What is English…


End file.
